A team making a documentary for Channel 4 has been ordered to leave Sri Lanka's embattled Jaffna peninsula on the orders of the country's military. The crew, two Britons and a Sri Lankan working for the independent producer, Quicksilver Media, were trying to film a story about the 35-year Tamil separatist conflict.
Reporter Sandra Jordan, camerawoman Siobhan Sinnerton and producer Dushiyanthini Kanagasabapathipillai had received permission from defence authorities in Colombo before flying into Jaffna. But, according to the media rights group Free Media Movement (FMM) they were detained by soldiers soon after arriving at their hotel.
They were forced to spend the night in a military base, and the next day soldiers took them on a two-hour guided tour of the city before ordering them to take a return flight to Colombo. They were under intensive surveillance until they left Sri Lanka earlier today, carrying with them precious footage shot in Colombo and during their military-supervised Jaffna tour.
An FMM statement said: "Jaffna has been under Sri Lanka government and military rule for nearly 12 years now. If it cannot allow independent reporting from Jaffna even after 12 years... that shows there is real problem that needs to be addressed."
It was not clear why the Channel 4 crew were made to leave, but the private Daily Mirror newspaper quoted a military official as saying they were sent back for their own safety.
Sri Lankan authorities have curtailed all journalistic access to the troubled northern and eastern regions, though there have been sporadic guided tours for hand-picked reporters.
FMM argues that press freedom has worsened as Sri Lanka pushes for a military victory over the Tamil rebels in a conflict that has claimed more than 60 000 lives. One of the Channel 4 team who has previously worked in Sri Lanka also noted the change of mood in the country. Indigenous journalists were too scared to talk after a series of abductions and shootings that have had the effect of cowing the press.
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